2018 MacBook Air HD camera is in poor quality.

My decision was to keep the MBA 2018. Despite I don't believe that the issue can be fixed with a software update and replacing the camera would be a too expensive task for Apple => I'm not expecting a solution coming from Apple.

Overall the MBA 2018 fits best to my needs and the camera isn't that important for me.

My workaround is using the camera from my iPhone along with a tripod (less than $10).

I'm not happy with this solution. I'm very disappointed that Apple is buying such a low quality parts. The most annoying thing is that Apple support is referencing that the tech specs are kept and that this is an expected behaviour. This is a fundamental change at Apple - they are no longer thinking different. It is just ship it and save costs.

i returned my today.Mac Book Pro has a better camera quality slightly I think.That one says Apple under system report vs Air has UVC or something. I checked it in store and the picture was brighter comparing to Air.I heard before all 2018 line up is bad but can’t comment on that.

I love the way the text box says “tell us what is on your mind” then censores you when you do. Half the time I have no idea what I said wrong...

Anyhow... this macrumors article is looking for comparisons. I wish I had kept the MBA long enough to have made some.

The article says the iPhone cameras are ‘wildly better’ than the laptop cameras.

I was using a front facing camera from an iPhone 6 - which is 1.2M pixels. I was literally holding the camera next to the MBA with the same lighting and all and the iPhone 6 looked light years better in FaceTime. Even my VGA iPhone 4 front facing camera looked better.

Still pictures don’t really do it justice. The video looks fuzzy and noisy and in motion. A normal camera looks crisp and clean. Maybe ours was worse than everyone else’s - because it was sooo bad that we rejected it immediately.

Maybe I expected too much - but I was hoping for a camera that looked better than a low quality front facing camera from 9 years ago.

I was kinda hoping that it would look as good as my 2011 iMac - is this realistic?

Someone should do a video review using the camera in their 2018 MBA - if it has not been done already.

So I took my daughter's today to Apple Store in Stamford, CT. Waited an hour for them to test it and tell me it's all fine. Then I asked them to compare it to old Air. They brought a beat up one and did side by side and it wasn't even close. The old Air was much better. Then told me I can write Apple and they can do the same (but it was clear he wasn't going to). Anyway, I'll ask my daughter but likely returning - very disappointed that they obviously know there's a problem but won't even acknowledge it. Complete waste of time.

Specifications to Consider

Resolution

Resolution describes the amount of detail in an image or video. In

most situations, a 720p webcam is sufficient to provide a clear, high

definition video stream. Although a 1080p webcam will technically

produce a higher definition stream, it is also reliant on increased

network bandwidth availability. 

Frame Rate

Frame rate is measured in frames per second, or FPS. The faster the frame rate, the smoother

and more fluid a video image will look, however, this will also

increase bandwidth needed to stream. A lower frame rate will yield a

choppier video image, but require less bandwidth. Generally speaking, a

frame rate of 30 FPS will yield great results. In the case of more

static subject matter, lower frame rates can be set within the camera.

Considerations for Field of View

Field of view refers to what can be seen from the camera lens, and can be described in terms such as lens angle (wide-angle, normal) or zoom capability.

Low-Light Capability 

Depending on your location and the lighting, selecting a webcam with

strong low light capability will dramatically improve the video image

quality.

Webcams are built for video chats, quick and dirty recordings, not

really for high-quality video production. You probably have not enough

light in your room and haven't noticed it since the Webcam just bumps up

the ISO/Exposure until it looks well-lit. The problem is that

increasing the ISO basically means amplifying the sensor signal

digitally, which will also amplify the noise and artifacts in your

video.

Do you see the difference in the quality of two 720p photos I provided above? That is new and old Air. If you do see the difference - there is no need to explain anything further. If you don't ... well, there is no need either.

I do not care if you manage to convert that difference into numbers. People see that difference, that is what this topic is all about - the quality difference (even if it cannot easily be expressed with numbers).

Return it while you can! That’s what I did; I upgraded to the pro and ended up paying 500 more. I don’t think I needed such a powerful laptop but had no choice. And the pro’s FaceTime camera is not all that great in low light but it’s definitely better than the air. It’s a shame the cameras on these high end macs aren’t not as good as the iPhones ones

The MacBooks camera quality is not up to standards of the iPhone and the reason is clear.

While not many people run around with the MacBook taking high res pictures of the world around them they do with the iPhone, so we understand that.

Newer then less a decent quality of as specified HD (720p) 1280x720 and 1 Mega Pixel is not delivered in the 2018 models of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

The 2018 models deliver at best 640x480 and 0.3 M pixel which is way bellow HD standard and way below the specifications.

MacBook Models from previous Years did deliver HD quality, so it is possible.

So what happened ?

Until Apple makes a official statement we won't know, is it hardware (the camera) or is it the software or both.

However as loyal consumers we deserve been told why the 2018 Models of MacBook's do not perform in accordance to the specifications.

Guys I bought my MacBook Air in Poland before Christmas... same crap! I needed an "upgrade" from my 5 years old MacBook Air and this is what I got? How do I suppose to attend serious video conference with this camera? COME ON Apple. I wait some little time and if they don't fix it I will consider changing it for Pro

****!

Looking at this tread made me think some Apple's technicians and engineers are so obsessed with numbers and parameters they forgot to actually turn on FaceTime and make some good old-school testing and just call people to see how it works.

It doesn't really take any special performance tools to evaluate the camera, you just turn it on and if you have an immediate feeling of travelling back in time to the nineties, yessss you have a problem.

Has anyone found a solution to the problem with the build in camera in MacBook 2018 models delivering resolution at only 640x480 @ 0.3 MP (way below HD quality).

It has become impossible to have a conferance call since not all participants just watch the faces of others, but at least one is presenting some information which is now impossible to decipher since it is so blurry.

At the moment we have to make sure the presenter has a 2017 or earlier Mac model so the others can actually see the material presented, or hock up external camera.

Just had this same conversation with Genius Bar today. They suggested that it's due to Apple not upgrading the 720p HD, to 1080p, camera from the previous generation to account for the detail of the new retina display. So the retina is picking up all the artifacts in the low end camera. Hopefully they release some sort of patch that smooths it out. Glaring issue that needs to be addressed by Apple.

Hey, I got my MacBook Air today and I have the same problem. When I opened Photo Booth, the camera looked so fuzzy and weird, but when I FaceTimed my friend, she said that the quality looked pretty good on her end. So I'm confused as to why this is happening with a brand new computer that is literally supposed to be so much better than the others.

Bring it back to the Store and see what they say about it.

Bring some variable font (including very small one) printout to compare.

All I can tell you I have a 2017 MacBook Air and the video (camera) quality is just fine and not fuzzy.